Before Starting Junior year, I went to Spain. Almost a full 6 weeks, and they were the most amazing weeks. Studying abroad was something that I have always dreamed of doing. Thinking about traveling in high school, and wondering about how wonderful it would be and now I can finally say that I did it. Now, what does this have to do with nursing? Nothing. But then again, everything. I attended a 4 week program in Granada, Spain and I took a language course and a Spanish and Islamic Civilization and culture course. Again, those courses having nothing to do with nursing but the important aspect is the culture. Everyone I met, everything that I had experienced, my language and socializing skills, I think are very important aspects that will stick with my for the rest of my life.

Going abroad made me so much more open-minded. I appreciate life so much more and I want to experience more. While in Spain, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Morocco for a weekend. Everyone asks me, what I did in Morocco and I never know what more to say than, I rode camels and toured several different cities, but what I remember are the people. Everyone there is so welcoming. Tourism is their biggest economic producer so they encourage and want people to visit but everyone was so nice. Even though most of the time I did not understand them and they couldn’t understand me, I knew that they really appreciated that I was there. The different cities and areas that we had visited showed me so many different ways of living and the different cultures and lifestyles.

In Granada, the people come off very strong. But, I never felt that anyone was rude or mean. It is a different culture, that’s all. For many who would first visit probably think they’re rude because they might not smile or they don’t say please or thank you but that’s is how they are. And now that I have lived there for a while and taken a culture course to explain some of these Spanish customs, it really helps me to keep an open mind when talking to anyone who I might perceive as different from me.

Not only did I meet people from Spain and Morocco, because I was taking classes, I met students from all over the world. My program group consisted of a few Americans and about 15 Australians. All of these people whom I became great friends with and several of which I still keep in touch with. Most of the time, we spent talking about the differences between Australians and Americans, and it is so different. They use a lot of slang and have different names for so much, such as they call peppers capsicum or sweatshirts are jumpsuits. But I loved hearing about it and learning about all the differences.

Every single person that I met and that I talked to had such a big impact on my life. The trip in itself changed me for the better. It is so hard to explain in words how this trip affected me. It really is one of those life-changing events and I want to experience and learn so much more about the world. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to immerse myself in an entirely different culture. My trip to Spain gave me a little taste of the traveling life, and now I can’t get enough. This is only the beginning for me and I can’t wait to see the rest of the world.